5-6 класс
I
The giraffe.
The giraffe is the tallest animal. His head is about five meters above the ground. It has its good and bad sides. The giraffe can eat leaves from high trees because he has a long neck and a strong tongue. But it’s difficult for the giraffe to eat the grass. When the giraffe drinks water, lions and leopards often hide in the tall grass ready to catch him. It is very bad for the giraffe, because he can’t raise his head quickly and run away. The giraffe can live for months without water.
He gets most of the water from what he eats. Also, because his heads is so far from the ground, a giraffe can see danger and can quickly walk away or run away.
1) The giraffe is the strongest animal.
a) true b) false c) not stated
2) He has a long neck.
a) true b) false c) not stated
3) The giraffe eats only grass.
a) true b) false c) not stated
4) The giraffe can run fast.
a) true b) false c) not stated
5) He can’t raise his head fast.
a) true b) false c) not stated
6) The giraffe can’t live without water for a long time.
a) true b) false c) not stated
7) He can see danger because he has a long neck.
a) true b) false c) not stated
II
The King and the Painter
There was a king who thought he could paint very well. His pictures were very bad but the people to whom he showed them were afraid to tell him the truth. They all said that his pictures were wonderful and they liked them very much.
One day the king showed his pictures to a great painter who lived in his country and said, "I'd like to know what you think of my pictures. Do you like them?"
The painter looked at the king's pictures and said, "My king, I believe that your pictures are bad and you will never be a good artist."
The king got very angry and sent the painter to prison. Two years passed and the king wanted to see the painter again.
"I was angry with you," he said, "because you didn't like my pictures. Now you are a free man again and I am your friend." The king talked with the painter and invited him for dinner. The dinner was wonderful. And they enjoyed it very much.
After dinner the king showed his pictures to the painter again and asked, "Well, how do you like them now?" The painter turned to a soldier who was standing behind him and said, "Take me back to prison."
I. Was the King a good painter?
1.Yes, people liked his pictures very much.
2.No, his pictures were bad.
3.He didn't paint pictures at all.
II. Why were people afraid to tell the King the truth about his pictures?
1.Because they were afraid of him.
2.Because they enjoyed the dinner.
3.Because the King could paint very well.
III. Did the painter like the King's pictures?
1.Yes, he liked them very much.
2.No, he said that the King was a bad artist.
3.The King didn't show the pictures to the painter.
IV. What happened to the great painter who told the King the truth?
1.The king invited him for dinner.
2.The king sent him to prison.
3.The king talked with the painter.
V. Why did the painter asked the soldier to take him back to prison?
1.Because he didn't like the king's pictures.
2.Because he enjoyed the dinner.
3.Because he liked to be in prison.
7-8 класс
School in the Slums
Slums – трущобы
Locks – замки
Guards — охранники
Permission — разрешение
Mellish school is in the slums of Brooklyn for pupils between twelve and fifteen years of age. There are about 1500 pupils there, and 90 teachers.
It’s a problem school, perhaps one of the most difficult schools in America. The white teachers can’t walk to the school because they may be attacked. They all drive to school, and their cars have special locks. There’s always a black policeman at the door of the school. He has a radio contact with the school guards. Pupils must have a written permission from the teacher if they want to go to the toilet. There’s a guard outside the washroom. Only one child can go into the washroom at a time, and he can’t stay there long.
The children who live in that district go to that school. They are all black children. However, why do the teachers work there?
“It’s very hard of course,” says Jane Flinch, a forty- five-year-old teacher. Most children have problems at home. Some of them are beaten by their parents. Some of them sleep at the lessons because they had to work at night. Some of the children get sick at the lessons because they didn’t have breakfast or even a meal for a day or two.
It’s the love of the job that keeps the teachers in that school. They teach and do social work. They feel that they are doing something good for the children who need help.
“There’s also the problem of violence,” says one of the teachers. “Sometimes when I go into a class, I can feel that some of the children are like a dynamite. However, I feel quite safe. I am sure that other pupils will help me.” There is very little money for teaching in that school. There is no money to buy food for the children.
The principal of the school has been there for many years. A lot of his happy optimism has gone. “No, I’m not optimistic about the future. Look around you,” he says and points out of the window at the high wall round the school. ”It’s not a very bright sight: buildings have holes instead of the windows, shops are closed, groups of people are sitting on the steps of the houses. They have nowhere to go and nothing to do.”
“We need money,” he says, “money is the only way to help this school and these people, and, of course, jobs for the people.”
Задания к тексту.
Exercise 1. Подберите правильный ответ.
1.Mellish school is for
a) small children.
b) older children.
c) small and older children.
2.The white teachers can’t walk to school because
a) they live far from the school.
b) they don’t like to walk.
c) it’s dangerous for them.
3.There’s a policeman
a) at the door of the school.
b) near the toilet.
c) outside the washroom.
4.The white teachers work there because
a) they can’t find a better job.
b) they love their job.
c) they get a lot of money there.
5.The school needs
a) more money
b) more teachers.
c) more policemen.
Exercise 2. Say if the statements are true, false or not stated.
1.Mellish school is in the slums of Mexico.
2.Most children have problems at home.
3.Mellish is a problem school.
4.The principal of the school has 5 children in his family.
5.The school needs money.
6.It’s good salary that keeps the teachers in that school.
Exercise 3. Заполните пропуски одним подходящим по смыслу словом.
1.Mellish school is one of the most difficult schools in ___________.
2.The ___________ teachers can’t walk to the school because they may be attacked.
3.Pupils must have a written permission from the teacher if they want to go to the ___________.
4.The teachers teach and do __________ work.
9-11 класс
HUMANS TAKE ON COMPUTER IN JEOPARDY
In 1997, there was a very famous chess match. The world champion chess player, Gary
Kasparov, went up against a special challenger: a computer.
The computer was called "Deep Blue" and it was built by IBM just to play chess. Deep Blue won the six-game chess match.
This year, IBM came up with a new challenge. They decided to build a computer that could match wits with two humans on a game show called Jeopardy. The computer is called "Watson", and its "brain power" is equal to thousands of home computers.
Playing chess is something computers can do very well because it relies on quickly deciding between different moves.
However, answering questions and understanding English is not something computers do well.
In Jeopardy, the questions may include riddles, puns and cultural references. These are things humans are good at, but computers are not.
That's because human language often uses pictures - metaphors - that don't always make sense when they're taken at face value.
For instance, if you said, "I ran like a deer!" your friend would know that you ran fast - not that you had four legs or were running through a forest. Computers need to "learn" those kinds of word pictures.
IBM wanted to prove they could make a computer that could understand many difficult things about the English language. Watson took on Jeopardy's two biggest all-time winners: Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings.
It took four years to get Watson ready to play humans on Jeopardy. Its memory banks are filled with encyclopedias, the Internet movie database, New York Times articles and the Bible. It also knows thousands of correctly answered Jeopardy questions.
So, how did Watson do? Great! In fact, the computer won the two-day contest. But it wasn't a runaway victory.
In fact, the very first question was won by human contestant Brad Rutter. And Watson got some answers wrong. For instance, the computer incorrectly answered this question in the category "US cities":
"Its largest airport is named for a WWII hero; its second-largest for a WWII battle."
Watson answered: "Toronto". Toronto? That's not even a US city, it's the capital of Ontario, Canada! How could Watson have gotten that one so wrong?
It turns out that Watson was programmed to not think very much about the category, so it wasn't really thinking of a US city - it was focused on the WWII part of the question. Both humans answered correctly: Chicago. In any case, Watson went on to win that game.
In the second game, Watson knew most of the answers, but was just too slow buzzing in so the humans got a lot of points on him.
The fact that humans could figure out answers and buzz in more quickly than Watson, an extremely powerful computer, shows how complex the human brain really is.
By the end of game two, Watson had won the match with more than $77,000. Jennings came in second with a two-game total of $24,000 and Brad Rutter came third with $21,600.
What's next for Watson? Watson's Jeopardy win is historical. It means that computers can do much more than most people thought they could. Watson's "brain" will now be used in hospitals to diagnose and treat patients. It will also be used to give doctors information.
READING COMPREHENSION TEST
I. Put down + if the statement is true, - if it is false (2 points each).
1. Jeopardy is a game show created by Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings.
2. Watson helped show how complex the human brain is.
3. Watson's "brain power" is equal to a hundred home computers.
4. Deep Blue is a chess program designed by IBM.
5. Computers can easily understand idioms in the English language.
6. The computer incorrectly answered a question about a famous city in Canada.
7. The Jeopardy competition was two days long.
8. Watson was programmed to think very carefully about the question's category.
9. The humans answered many questions faster than the computer.
10. Watson won the first question.
II. Choose the correct letter (a, b or c) – (2 points each)
11. According to the article, questions in Jeopardy may include all of the following EXCEPT...
A. metaphors.
B. riddles.
C. cultural references.
12. It took years to prepare Watson for the game show.
A. four
B. around four
C. around fourteen
13. Watson's "brain" will be used by...
A. emergency dispatchers.
B. computer programmers.
C. health care professionals.
14. About which category did Watson answer a question incorrectly?
A. US cities.
B. Canadian capitals.
C. Famous airports.
15. Watson won the contest by about _______dollars.
A. $21,000
B. $77,000
C. $67,000
16. Choose the correct ranking of players, from last place to first place.
A. Rutter, Jennings, Watson.
B. Watson, Rutter, Jennings.
C. Jennings, Rutter, Watson.
17. The phrase "to get a lot of points on someone" most closely means...
A. to receive points from an opponent.
B. to earn more points than someone.
C. to transfer points to a different player.
18. The author would mostly likely agree that in the future, computers will...
A. take jobs away from humans.
B. replace the need for human doctors.
C. help professionals in certain fields.
19. Which US city's largest airport was named after a World War II hero?
A. Ontario.
B. Chicago.
C. Toronto.
20. If you had a "runaway victory," you could also say that you...
A. celebrated your victory by running.
B. barely defeated your opponent.
C. crushed your opponent.
638
83 860 
